Robert Sanchez claimed that Marc Cucurella had Lamine Yamal ‘in his pocket’ during Chelsea’s 3-0 win over Barcelona within the Champions League on Tuesday night.
Enzo Maresca’s side sealed a powerful victory at Stamford Bridge with an own goal from Jules Kounde, an excellent solo effort from Estevao and Liam Delap’s finish from close range.
Barcelona, who had Ronald Araujo sent off shortly before half time, struggled to address Chelsea’s physicality, while their talisman Yamal was unable to cause problems on their right flank.
Yamal’s ineffectiveness was largely right down to the performance of Cucurella, who closed down and hassled his Spain teammate at every opportunity.
‘He had him in his pocket,’ Sanchez told the Spanish media at Stamford Bridge when asked about Cucurella’s display against Yamal.
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Sanchez also said in an apparent message to Yamal: ‘Everyone seems to be great until they arrive to the Premier League.’
Sanchez also claimed that the result’s one other example of Chelsea ‘rising to the occasion’ against tough opponents.
‘The red card gave us a slight advantage, but we dominated the sport from the primary minute,’ Sanchez said.
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‘We scored a variety of goals, three of them offside, and I’m very comfortable with the victory.
‘I do know the standard we now have, we know the way they played, we’ve faced them and won head-to-head. In matches against top opponents, we at all times rise to the occasion. We’re a team that at all times rises to the occasion in big moments, and we’ve done it once more. It’s just one other game.’
When asked if Barcelona were the favourites to win the Champions League, Sanchez laughed and replied: ‘We’re the favourites.’
The win against Barcelona has put Chelsea fifth within the Champions League table with 10 points from five matches.
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